I can’t remember
when we have been so busy at the Web Marketing Association. There is
so much to tell you about, that I’m just going to run down the list
of everything.

IAC Awards

The judging is
complete and the participants will be notified later this week.
Winners will be posted on the IAC Awards Web site the following
week. A special thanks to all of the industry professionals who
pitched in and helped judge this year’s IAC Awards. They did a
tremendous job.

New WebAward.org
site

If you have not
seen it yet, WebAward.org has been designed and reengineered to meet
the growing needs of the awards. Now you can create a single account
and enter multiple entries and always know the status of your
entries. Special thanks to everyone who worked long hours getting
this site ready to launch, especially Jeff Freedman at Small Army
for the great new design and Chip Lowell for the around the clock
programming efforts to write and test the code for all of the new
functionality of the site. The call for Entries will begin in
earnest shortly, although the entry form is now on the site.

New WebAward
Sponsors

We are in the
process of announcing our sponsors for the 2006 WebAward
competition. These hand-picked companies are all leaders in the
online community and we appreciate their support for our programs.
Please help us by supporting our sponsors.

Our sponsor
MediaPost’s OMMA conference has graciously donated a full conference
pass (a $995 value) to be given away in this newsletter. The
conference will be held March 27-28, Hilton Universal City,
Hollywood CA and looks to be one of the “can’t miss” events for
interactive professionals. To enter, send your name and address to
OMMA@webaward.org. One full conference pass will be drawn from
all who enter next week.

eComXpo Panel

I will be
moderating a panel at eComXpo, a virtual trade show for eCommerce
marketers. Joining me will be Chris Colborn, VP Interaction Design,
R/GA, Jeff Freedman, Marketing Principal, Small Army, and Michelle
Gugick, Associate Director of Interactive, Ernst & Young. The title
of the panel is “Building an Award-Winning Web site: Current Trends
in Web development from the Judges of the 2006 WebAwards.” Please
join us for this informative discussion. Attending
the event is completely free, and registration is now open at
www.ecomxpo.com/wma.

WebAward
Competition ––
The WebAward.org site has been redesigned and new functionality
added this year. Check out the “What’s New” page to see changes to
this year’s program. The official Call for Entries will begin in
April, but the entry form is now available on the site.

How
Tradeshows can benefit from going Virtual– Trade
show are a great way to meet with a lot of vendors and learn about
current trends. Here’s a case study about one group that is bringing
their tradeshows to a computer near you.

As online media,
marketing, and advertising rapidly rise in prominence, the industry
is experiencing a profound shift in media mix models, with marketers
committing ever more resources to digital media and marketing
programs including online brand advertising and promotion, search
programs, interactive video, e-mail, RSS, podcast, blog marketing,
and a host of other emerging platforms. This conference will feature
industry experts exploring these issues and more. To learn more go
to
http://www.mediapost.com/omma/eastindex.cfm?ip=Overview

Our sponsor
MediaPost’s OMMA conference has graciously donated a full conference
pass (a $995 value) to be given away in this newsletter. To enter,
send your name and address to
OMMA@webaward.org. One full conference pass will be drawn from
all who enter next week.

eComXpo

April 4-6, 2006

100% Online &
Virtual, eComXpo will bring together more than 7,000 advertisers,
publishers, search marketers, merchants, affiliates, webmasters,
agencies, and vendors, making this the world’s largest tradeshow for
eCommerce Marketers. All the benefits of a top tradeshow can be
attained from the comfort of your home or office.View interactive presentations from industry luminaries,
enter to win valuable prizes, and network with exhibitors and
attendees!Attending the event is
completely free, and registration is now open at
www.ecomxpo.com/wma

ad:tech San Francisco

April 26-28, 2006

The #1 Event for Interactive
Marketing. Join us at ad:tech San Francisco for groundbreaking
sessions, a hands-on technology showcase, enhanced networking
opportunities, and sizzling parties. Save 20% by registering with
our promotional code: ATSFEG. Learn more and register at:
www.ad-tech.com/sf.asp

WebMaster World

Apr 18-20, 2006,
Hynes Convention Center, Boston

WebmasterWorld's
PubCon is an educational conference and industry trade show
programmed specifically for web professionals and website site
owners. The event will be opened with a
Keynote Speech by best selling author Malcolm Gladwell, writer of
'The Tipping Point,' and 'Blink.'

The conference has four tracks each day
and these include sessions focusing on some of today’s hottest
Internet topics. The tracks are: Organic Search & General Webmaster
Issues, Paid Search (PPC), Affiliates & Advertising, and the highly
popular Site Reviews. In addition, the highly rated networking event
gives attendees the opportunity to meet and discuss their individual
issues with the other attendees, speakers and businesses. The event
is supported by the Industry's leading businesses as speakers,
exhibitors, and sponsors, including Ask, Google, Microsoft's MSN
Search and Yahoo!.

For more information
go to
www.pubcon.com A limited number of participants can receive 25%
off the full conference rate by entering code "wm-80625" when
registering.

P.S. Help us to get the
word out. Please forward this newsletter to other Internet
professionals you feel could benefit from its information.